


Apples

by loosingletters



Series: But what I do [1]
Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Family, Gen, Gender Dysphoria, Hurt/Comfort, Trans Bruce Wayne, Trans Male Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-28
Updated: 2019-02-28
Packaged: 2019-11-07 04:08:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17953307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loosingletters/pseuds/loosingletters
Summary: The first thing Bruce Wayne did when he finally returned home was planting an apple tree.“Master Bruce, while I am glad to see you are not afraid to get your hands dirty, I would appreciate it if you could inform me before you start digging holes into this garden.”





	Apples

**Author's Note:**

> I'm feeling pretty dysphoric right now and what better way to deal with it than to make all your faves transgender?  
> Takes places right after Bruce returns to Gotham, but before he's Batman.  
> What universe/timeline precisely? Don't ask me, this series will be a Frankenstein's monster "I pick what I like from different canons" kinda thingy.  
> Enjoy!

When Bruce had finally come home after years of absence, he had only stayed one night at the manor before disappearing again without a word. Alfred had been disappointed, frustrated and angry. He had waited so long to hear from the boy he had raised, just one word to know if he was still alive. Even with his contacts, Alfred couldn’t reach the dark places Bruce had wandered off to.

It had been a joyful Friday evening when Bruce returned and a cold Saturday afternoon when Alfred woke up alone in the manor. Resigned he had worked on polishing the silverware he had taken out the night before for the first time in almost a decade, only to stash it away again.

On Sunday morning Bruce reappeared at the manor, looking much more haunted and exhausted than he had two nights before. The man digging into the dirt with already bleeding hands shouldn’t look like he had already seen the whole world. At twenty-three, Alfred himself had still been quite unsure what an adventurous young man like he wanted to do with himself.

Bruce seemed to have figured it all out already.

“Master Bruce, while I am glad to see you are not afraid to get your hands dirty, I would appreciate it if you could inform me before you start digging holes into this garden.”

Alfred had put many lonely hours into the garden. It was a source of pride and happiness for him. Of course, it still belonged to Bruce, but Alfred liked to think that Bruce knew better than to put his hands where they did not belong without asking even after all this time.

“It won’t happen again, Alfred. I just need to plant this tree.”

Alfred looked at the young and small apple tree currently still standing in a plastic pot next to the hole.

“We do still have shovels. If you had asked me first, I could have given you one.”

Bruce shook his head. “No, I wanted it to do it like the time my parents and I planted my apple tree.”

He didn’t look up from his hands to even just acknowledge Alfred’s presence, he just kept on working. Alfred suppressed the bitter words tripping on the tip of his tongue. Raising Bruce had been far from easy, and most days Alfred had only been able to hope that he was doing right by the boy. Bruce was his friends’ child, Alfred’s ward and son, and his disappearing act had very nearly torn Alfred’s heart to pieces. He wanted Bruce to know that, but even more, he wanted to know what Bruce had been thinking, running away without another word.

Instead, he refrained from speaking up about it because above everything he wished for his son to come home again.

“Then I’ll leave you to it. Will you still be here for lunch?”

“Yes, dinner too and breakfast in the morning again. I’m here to stay, Alf.”

He did not allow himself to lose his composure, but he couldn't prevent a soft and frail smile.

“I am very pleased to hear that, Master Bruce.”

Alfred turned around, leaving the young man behind. He would have to check the pantry for what they still had and if it would be enough to make Bruce’s favorite meal. It was, after all, an occasion to be celebrated.

“Alfred!”

“Yes?”

This time Bruce did look up, staring at Alfred with puffy red eyes. “I- could you schedule a meeting with Leslie? I wasn’t able to get my hands on testosterone during my absence. And ask her about how soon we could perform a hysterectomy. Please.”

Alfred never asked what Bruce’s reasoning for his action in the garden was, at that moment he was simply glad that his child had returned home alive, which was more than he had expected on some days.

Over the years he watched the small apple tree grow right next to the one that Thomas and Martha had planted. He wondered what it stood for, coming to various conclusions with not a single one that seemed likely.

He stopped guessing when he saw Bruce and young Master Dick come back from a patrol with a small cherry tree.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I'd love to hear what you think!  
> A litte explanation I guess?  
> Before his training trip or whatever you wanna call it, Bruce was on puberty blockers and during the training being cis passing is the least of your worries when you could be dying, you know? And Damian has to come from somewhere. So there's that.


End file.
